A Chase across Rifts
by Flying.Penguin.97
Summary: Alexius casts his spell in a panic sending Lyra Lavellan back into the time of a Ferelden that has only just made it's way through the blight. Stuck on her own with no way back to the future Lyra's only hope comes from Ostagar, where she hopes to find Solas dreaming of the great betrayal.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Nicole here! For those of you who have read the summary I'll let you know this is the stories introduction, with the plot kicking off in the next upload. For now sit back and enjoy the chilled start :)

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The wind was little more than a tickle on the back of her neck as she sat over the edge of the mountain edge. The drop beneath her wasn't sudden but it was steep enough to show off a stunning amount of the mountain range below them. The red of sunset bounced around their peaks with ease, creating a beautiful red glow off the powdered snow.

No one else was around to see it, most had made their way slowly, if not surely towards the inn since their return from Redcliff. She'd returned with nothing more than an invitation to a trap, and as she sat here she knew her advisors would be searching high and low for a way to turn the trap to her favour. She'd left once it was clear she had nothing left to say. She wasn't one for tactical assault, if they wanted her as bait she had no way of launching a counter argument.

She wouldn't let the thought trouble her however, out here Haven's lights looked like little more than low lying stars in the darkening sky and so she would lets its problems shrink just as much.

"Red skies at night, the shepherds will be pleased." There was a time were Sola's sudden appearance had made her flinch, but now it was as common as the snow under their feet. "So the saying goes" Lyra turned to face him, she could feel the red light from below bouncing across her face, and she squinted in an effort to force it from the corners of her eyes. Solas smiled lightly at her, a slight glint in his eyes, a greeting he saved mostly for her eyes only.

Lyra slipped herself down from her perch, rising slowly from her knees after the drop. "What do I owe the occasion to" she teased, there was a glint in his eye, there was something he definitely wanted to share. He chuckled lightly before shaking his head "You're a studious woman Lyra, I think you'll appreciate learning about what I've found" he replied and she found it hard to rid herself of the smile now stuck to her face. She couldn't tell if it was him, or the excitement of new discoveries that had her in pure glee around him but she wasn't going to lose sleep on figuring it out so instead she followed like a puppy, hot on his heels. With Solas by her side she felt like an apprentice again and she loved it.

It wasn't a long walk to his cabin, he'd made a place for himself in the corner of their settlement. It was hard to stumble across and she only knew it's location due to their previous rendezvous there. She knew he went for walks in the mountains at night, and she guessed the remoteness of the cabin's location made it easier for him to sneak off. Leliana had told her of it but she left him be, she trusted him and she certainly didn't want to force more suspicion on him. Once they were inside she made her way to his kettle. He always had hot tea brewing, yet she rarely saw him drinking it. She poured herself some as she watched Solas fuss over a torch stand. It seemed so _ordinary_ compared to some of the things he kept in here but after a few minutes in preparation and a click of his fingers that changed. A flame sprang to life, casting the room in it's glow, but the flame wasn't orange. It was blue.

"Viel fire?" The words fell from her lips without her meaning them to, and she stuttered as she hurried to make a coherent sentence. "I thought you said this only occurred where the viel was thin." He smirked at her. "Glad to see you're paying attention, but that's actually where you come in." It was then she felt it, the warmth in her palm, her mark was flaring despite no rifts.

"You're using my mark to weaken the veil."

"Correct." He sounded _impressed. _"In the same way you can reopen rifts to seal them correctly, I can use your mark to weaken the veil enough to produce veil fire."

She looked closely, her eyes watching it as it flickered, it was identical in every way to normal fire, but she felt no warmth from its glow. Carefully she set her cup down and strolled across the room, placing her fingers just within the flames. It was **freezing** and she removed her hand from it, brushing off the touch of frost that had curled around her finger. Despite the cold however its presence still emanated comfort, lighting the room in a way that promoted calming thoughts.

"I must admit it complements your room nicely." Lyra hummed.

"It's not the only thing it complements" The slight twitch in the corner of his mouth gave away the intent of the remark and Lyra felt her ears warm with great speed at the compliment.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were flirting."She laughed, glad the tune didn't flutter like the contents of her stomach.

"Your ears tell me you may already know the intent of my comment" He teased and she couldn't help the laughter. It was playful, friendly and she loved the thrill of their tension. Once it died down she returned to the corner of the room that housed her tea, gripping it for warmth as she spoke."Now, did you draw my attention to your cabin to awe me or teach me." She said after a sip from her cup, one eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity.

"Are you sure you can spare the time, I hear there is quite the attack plan brewing in the war room for tommorow." He asked, a smile playing on his lips that was so small it was hard to see he was pulling an expression at all. Lyra stuck out her tongue in mock disgust at the thought of listening to even more military strategy plans.

"I'll have to return later, but for now? Consider my attention yours."

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She showed up to the war room with veil fire in her hand playfully and a new found confidence that could only be gained from mastering a new skill. The plan hadn't changed much, but there was now the inclusion of a secret passage. Lyra didn't have to worry about the details, the passage was for Leliana and her spies after all, she just needed a way of keeping Alexius busy long enough to prevent her own murder.

"Lyra, we can't force you to do this, I just want you to know it's not too late to ask for the templars help."

Lyra leaned over the board, brushing over the piece that marked the templars stronghold on the map before scanning the area near the hinterlands where the mages stayed. "We can't leave a hostile mage force on our doorstep. It may be a trap but at least we know what we're in for, the same can not be said about seeing the templars"

From the lack of noise she could tell there would be no objections to the viewpoint. Her people were tired, eager to leave, her choice was less of a detail to be argued and more like the final seal of approval. Eager to see it through herself she raised her piece of choice from the board and cast it to the side. The region the templars occupied was once again unmarked territory and all focus was on the area the mages resided. Her choice was clear. They were going after the mages.

"Sleep well, we go tomorrow."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave any thoughts you may have in a review and don't forget to set an alert if you'd like to read updates in the future. This chapter was mostly setting the scene so if I have peaked your interest I'm certain you'll enjoy what is to come :)


	2. Chapter 2

Here we go chapter two! Thank you so much to 5 coloured walker and Jord for the reviews on the previous chapter I hope you enjoy.

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Redcliff was a busy village, and despite it being the refuge of most mages it, ironically, wasn't due to the war. In fact the place was relitivly unscaved, disconnected from the waring Hinterlands by a gate very few had the right to traverse across. The fact that she had been given this right meant many locals would often be hot on her heels, asking for favours impossible to accomplish without leaving the simple village.

They were easy for the most part, simple tasks for simple lives but she knew how much they meant to the people here. She made sure to do the ones she could before her meeting with Alexius that afternoon, it was a great way to pass the time and a brilliant distraction to stop her from becoming too nosy. If Alexius thought he had lost his element of surprise she didn't know how he'd react but she knew they weren't planned for it. It's why she purposely ignored his son's wishes to meet with her prior to the event. The less they knew she knew the better.

"How much longer does this magi-pants think we're going to sit here and look pretty for, there's not a decent bite to eat around here I'm going to starve before the fun even starts." It was Sera of course, she'd been complaining of been hungry the second she realised she'd neglected to pick up her satchel of cookies before leaving this morning, but this time her complaint was accompanied by a genuine roar from her stomach that was quite concerning.

"Lyra did offer you some bread Sera, I think you should take it before that stomach of yours eats the rest of you." replied Bull, his deep voice rumbling with amusement.

Sera moaned, huffing under her breath before adding "Scoff that bread! Filled with raisins, that's just wrong even I know that." Lyra opened her satchel, pulling off a pinch off bread from her loaf, taking care to ensure it had no raisin attached.

"What about a piece raisin free?" Lyra asked, looking back at Sera to see a look of disgust.

"Too late, it's been infected with the taste, the raisins aren't ever fooling me again." Lyra just grinned and turned her eyes to Solas. "Hungry?" A touch of a smile hit the corner of his mouth, "It's your last supper we're walking to, not mine." Lyra laughed "Well ouch, there goes my happiness." Without another word Solas shook his head in bemusement and took the bread, getting a collective sound of disgust from Bull and Sera as he ate it.

Bull whispered "Traitor" into Sola's ear as they approached the foot of the chantry and Lyra grinned "I'm converting him to my ways."

"You wish" Bull purred and Lyra turned red as she went to hit him.

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The guards hadn't been too happy to see Lyra had company, but they obviously feared her more than Alexius's disapproval because a firm tone was all she needed to get her companions past. Well that or they were so well prepared that three extra men didn't bother them, but Lyra was going to try for optimism.

"Lyra lovely to see you again, I'm so glad you and your… advisors could join me for the negotiations."

Lyra saw right through the fluffy words. "You don't need formalities with me Alexius, I'm no Orlesian noble, I won't be offended." Alexius grinned in his chair. "Wonderful, straight to business, I like it." yet somehow his tone didn't change, his tone never _relaxed_. He was still hiding something from her, likely aggression, he didn't seem like the kind of guy to kill purely for gain, he had a grudge against her.

"I get the feeling you're not telling me everything Alexius and it's time to talk. I'm not here for the mages, I want to know why you want me dead."It wasn't entirely true but it worked, although at first his voice stayed as it was it later fumbled as he tried to brush her statement off.

"You mean you don't know? I want you dead because you are a thief, a girl who stole a mark she had no right to and uses it to oppose those far greater than herself." Far greated? Sounded like how people described the elder one, he was serving him? Lyra frowned, a genuine look of confusion spreading across her face.

"You work for the Elder one." Something shifted in the air then, fighting erupted in the distance, her people no doubt and Alexius's guards moved to meet them, the rest stepping from their pillars, weapons surrounding them like a cage. Arrows quickly met their heads however and they dropped as fast as the smile on Alexius's face. Sera's bow was out, her finger twitching to release her first arrow as Bull and Solas drew their weapons behind her.

Anger tarnished Alexius, warping his face as he tore off his amulet. "You can either serve him or die, but I will give you no choice!" It was all she could here before a massive uproar of wind and a blinding light hit them, she heard Solas shout and Sera scream all sorts of atrocities as her arrow whistled past Lyra's head to meet Alexius but it was all very faint. Too faint. Something was wrong. She couldn't move, could barely hear, like she was bathing in water and hearing echoes of the outside world. Before she could even shout for help all thoughts left her and she dropped.

Sera spit the blood out of her mouth, scrambling at the floor as she went to get up, what Alexius did was equal parts explosive and blinding and she was sure she'd just lost a tooth if not her sight. Her standing was short lived however as a blow to her head knocked her straight to the ground. Solas and Bull were down too, but she couldn't see Lyra.

Alexius was cursing under his breath, paying them no attention as he paced. "You damn elven wench, this is all your fault." Sera stared at the ground dazzled before she realised he was talking to her. "Me? My fault? What the fuck did you just do and how was it my fault?" The guard hit her again, causing her to spit out another mouthful of blood. There was definitely at least one tooth gone now.

"You messed up his spell, he meant to wipe her from time itself but the fact that we're here, still part of the inquisition meant that clearly didn't happen." It was Solas, his voice monotone, like he was reading words with no meaning from a slip of parchment. Alexius paused, taking time to examine Solas as he walked down the stairs to meet them.

"Clever elf, perhaps you can tell me more about exactly what just happened." Solas scoffed.

"You mean you don't even know if you sent her forwards or backwards in time." He was angry now, he has been able to hide it because he knew she wasn't dead, but sending her to an unknown point of time without the slightest clue as to where meant it would be near impossible to bring her back to the present day from this time period. "You've sent her to fate worse than death."

And with that Alexius smiled, "Good, this may not have been a complete disaster." Turning away he made his way back up to his throne. "Venatori, you know where the dungeons are, why not acquaint our guests with them."

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The musky smell of rotten wood and the gentle press of wooden planks on her side were the sensations that greeted her as she woke. Sunlight warmed her face from cracks in the roof, which was very likely the source of the broken wood. Lyra sat up begrudgingly, wiping off dust as she went to stand. The old hall she was in had many candles lining the floor, with rags of red carpet scattered randomly around them thanks to the wind the building let in. Behind her she heard the wooden floor creak under the strain of footsteps and she turned to see a priestess dressed in chantry robes coming to greet her.

"Good morning child, I must admit that your presence here surprises me, most use the castle to seek refuge you see." The confusion on Lyra's face must off been apparent because with nothing more than a short pause she added "But if you seek more than a place to sleep I'm here to assist you young one."

Lyra opened her mouth before closing it, gently twirling on the balls of her feet to take in the surroundings before her. Never had she seen a chanty in this condition and yet the place looked strangely familiar. "Where am I right now?"

"Why you're in Redcliff my dear, don't tell me you slept through the blight." The woman laughed, it was meant as a simple joke to ease her but instead her heart skipped a beat before doubling its pace. Simply minutes after waking she was on high alert. The blight? "Sister what year is it?"

The priestess laughed, most likely to try and seem polite. "Dear girl I don't know how long you usually sleep for but it is still the year nine- thirty one dragon." Lyra felt a bit too light on her toes then. "Thirty one?" It hadn't meant to sound like a question but her voice failed her half way through.

The woman looked like she was going to speak but Lyra turned away from her and interrupted her before she could start"I'm sorry I need some air." she said before bolting through the closest door sized hole that would let her out of the chantry. She was in Redcliff alright, her surroundings proved that, no matter how far she ran from the paved streets. Unfortunately for her however she was there ten years too early.

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That's the end of the chapter! Please favourite and review if you enjoyed it and I shall work on the third! I'm excited to be back and working on this story and I hope you are too. Thank you for taking the time to read and have a nice day, Nicole x


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three! BAM! Been on a bit of a writing spree so I hope you enjoy this update! Thanks again to 5 coloured walker for the review and thank you to Eliphas-Chaos for the favourite, I hope you and everyone else enjoy the chapter.

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The grass was sharp on the soles of her feet, dried out and lightly roasted by the smoke of burning corpses. Her clan had never come this far south, the native clans had a streak of bad luck so fierce it was as if Fen'harel himself had cursed them and her keeper had not wanted that luck to spread. It's why Lyra had never seen the devastation the blight had caused, she'd heard the stories, read the names of the dead, but there was something about looking down on the charred and bloody hills of a wrecked Redcliff that made her stomach turn.

The summit had been bad, but this was somehow worse and without even meaning to she threw up. It wasn't much and when she was done she simply wiped her mouth, spitting away the taste from her mouth. A sip of water was all she needed to clear the lingering taste from her throat but unfortunately the rivers were polluted with corpses, and Gods be damned was she catching the blight today. Her luck certainly wasn't that foul.

Instead she wiped her hands on her sides, silently praying she'd find a change of clothes later. Her mark looked dead. It glowed dimly, it's connection to the fade practically severed without the breach. It felt awful however, stinging as ferociously as the day she got it. She wasn't meant to be here and neither was the power trapped in her hand and she had no idea how that was going to work out.

"Curious." It was an old voice, somehow both strange and familiar and she found the vibrations of it tickling her neck. Lyra would be lying if she said it hadn't caught her off guard and she found herself struggling to stumble for words. "Wh-" was all she could manage to say before being silenced.

"Quiet girl. Elven. Dalish, yet you do not recognise me like the native clans." Fingers touched Lyra's hair ever so gently, causing such little pressure she would have doubted it had happened if she hadn't just seen it. "You're not meant to be here dear." Lyra had heard tales of an old woman in the south, great feats that had likely been changed a thousand times before reaching her ears but the gist was the same, a very old and very powerful witch who appeared all knowing. Humans called her the witch of the wilds, the dalish had a different name.

"Asha'bellanar?" She didn't reply to the name or answer the question, she simply smiled in recognition before stepping back. "I'm just an old woman dear, the person you seek is neither she nor here." She pulled her cloak up a little higher on her chest so it no longer scraped along the ground, raising her hood until it rested lightly on her head. "Follow and you will find who you must." And with little more than an intake of breath she turned on her feet and walked further north.

Lyra had no clue what had just happened, no idea what the woman meant but if she could provide even a little help she was not going to go against the lady. She jogged behind her, ignoring the stabbing of the grass beneath her feet as she went to catch up.

For an old lady she was fast.

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The prison cell was musty and damp. Water dripped from above adding to the chill of the stone flooring. Red lyrium was the only light source around but Bull knew he'd rather be blind in the dark than stuck with that rock in his cell for too long. No one had spoken since they were thrown in here, there were no guards, nothing to stop them but the situation they were in was far too grave for light chatter. Not like that was going to stop him.

"Just checking that the smell of death isn't coming from either of your corpses." No reply was heard from Solas but Sera scoffed. "I wish, would rather be a pretty corpse than left to form a living ornament."

"I would say they're closer to wraiths, they still move after all." Oh and there was that cheery comment Bull expected from Solas.

"Is it too late to start calling myself the Crimson Bull, I don't know of any Iron this red in colour?" Surprisingly that got a little bit of a laugh from both of them.

"Ahhhh" Bull purred, the fact Solas wasn't dead silent in his experience meant that the elf was no longer lost in thought "Baldy laughed so clearly he's got something, spill the beans."

"Beans?" It was Sera, clearly having no idea what beans were but Bull stayed silent and so did Solas and the word was dropped as quickly as it was spoken.

"There actually is something I can do." The rattling of chains was the only sound Bull heard, possibly Sera pressing herself closer to hearing distance now her interest had spiked. "And why not us?" Sera asked. She'd been disgruntled since the second she shot her arrow too late and although she wouldn't admit it Bull knew that she probably wanted Lyra back just as badly as Solas, and that was a feat in itself.

"Well if the red lyrium allows you to develop magical abilities any time soon I feel we're going to have plenty of time in these cells to teach you how to enter the fade." After no reply and a heavy sigh from Sera Solas chuckled a little before continuing.

"I thought not, now you see my line of thought is that if she got sent backwards in time she's going to be making new memories, altering past events in and around the area. The fade itself is flexible but the memories of humans is set in stone, an alteration would cause ripples and if I can find those ripples and can at least track what time period she is in." He sighed then, no one else spoke, clearly contemplating his words before he added.

"Of course if she was sent forwards then there is nothing I can do, and even if I do find her I can't bring her back, only communicate with her."

A loud bang echoed against the prison cell doors at that moment, the chiming of interlocking chains only adding to the noise. "What kind of shittin' help is that then?" Sera may be hot tempered, but she had a point.

Before he had time to argue however a new voice caught them all off guard. It sounded close, although that sound have been no surprise considering Sera's antics had been making enough noise to mask the footsteps of a small Qunari platoon. It was a man's voice, the accent marking him as Tevinter before he even walked through the door to reveal himself

"Sorry for the scare, but I believe we've not been introduced, my name is Dorian and I believe I can help."

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The woman had walked her to the closest road sign that bore the carvings of the word 'Ostagar'. It was a place she'd heard plenty about. Solas himself had told her enough of the place's history to fill a small journal. He had gone there to dream recently after the blight's end , she didn't know how long for but he'd been more than happy to…

Wait. Solas was at Ostagar, if anyone could help her with this situation it would be him she was sure of it. The mark on her hand would be proof enough for him of her fate in the future. It was her best bet.

"So the girl has finally realised the path she must take." Lyra beamed at the comment, her face coming alive with the light in her eyes. The lady stopped in the road, she did not go to say goodbye and she did not wait for a thanks, she simply changed her direction and left Lyra on their previous trail. The deed would not go unappreciated however and Lyra shouted her thanks to the wind, sure it would carry it to the woman's ears. Without another second to spare Lyra started jogging. She had her work cut out for her if she wanted to get to Ostagar by nightfall, she knew camping was not an option, she had no supplies and any natural resources in these pars would most definitely have been scavenged already.

The trek wasn't daunting however, Lyra had been a hunter before she become her keeper's apprentice and her dalish stamina still remained.

She'd definitely make it.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you have the time please favourite or leave a review, the support is much appretiated. Thanks! - Nicole xx


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